Commercial HVAC in St. Louis, MO

Commercial HVAC in St. Louis has different stakes than a house: a failed unit can send customers and staff home. Kenan Corporation serves home and business owners, residential and light commercial, and the work centers on rooftop package units, split systems and the gas heat that comes with them.

What counts as light commercial HVAC?

Light commercial covers small offices, retail shops, restaurants and similar buildings where one or a few package or split units do the work. Equipment is often on the roof, which changes access, safety and crane or lift needs when a unit is replaced. Large central plants and chillers are a different category, so call before assuming a fit.

Three pages go deeper: commercial HVAC repair for breakdowns, rooftop unit service for package equipment, and commercial HVAC maintenance for planned upkeep.

How should a business decide between repair and replacement?

Weigh the repair quote against the unit's age and the cost of an outage. Commercial equipment, like residential, commonly lasts 15-20 years with routine maintenance, according to contractor sources. A unit past that range with a major failure is usually a replacement conversation, while a unit in its prime with a failed contactor is a repair.

Ask for the repair quote and a replacement quote side by side. We diagnose before replacing parts, and we say so when a repair is the better buy. Our rooftop unit replacement planning guide is written for building owners who are planning ahead.

What does a planned maintenance schedule look like?

It follows the seasons, because St. Louis loads are seasonal: 49 days at or above 90°F in 2025 and 4,100 heating degree days, according to NWS St. Louis. Schedule a cooling check before May and a heating check before October, and change filters on a set calendar. If you manage several buildings, the property manager checklist lays out what to record each visit.

Will a commercial replacement need a permit?

Plan on it, then confirm with the building office that governs your address. St. Louis County requires a permit to install, alter, repair or replace heating and air-conditioning systems, and the City of St. Louis adopts the 2018 International Mechanical Code. Municipal rules vary, so check with the local building office and get who pulls the permit written into the quote.

Two examples show how much. Bridgeton sends all of its mechanical permits to St. Louis County Public Works. Maryland Heights says the county handles permits and inspections for commercial and multi-family projects, and that larger mechanical work needs construction documents. Landlords and tenants should settle who orders the permit before a rooftop unit is swapped.